Sunburn
by Scarlet Secret
Summary: The summer between Bellatrix’s fifth and sixth year she runs away from home saying she can’t stand her family any more. Later in life nobody will comment that she preceded her cousin by half a dozen years.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I own nothing, although one day I plan to own a witty comment to put here.

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The summer between Bellatrix's fifth and sixth year she runs away from home saying she can't stand her family any more. Later in life nobody will comment that she preceded her cousin by half a dozen years.

You, yourself, are in a good mood that summer. Amelia Bones, the veritable thorn in your side, has finally graduated and although she was an exceptional student, this early in your career you could do without having your role questioned so much. She was forever querying every single aspect of the course and occasionally would make sly digs at your teaching. Admittedly it did fluster you somewhat but she was a challenge and your Gryffindor courage shone through when you faced the girl almost every day for seven years. Unfortunately she was a Gryffindor too and the two of you were locked in a stubborn battle of wills throughout her education. There had been tears and tantrums, most of them from you and witnessed by the Headmaster, but somehow you had both survived.

On her final day at Hogwarts Amelia had appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, amongst the throngs of departing students and thrown herself at you. She had hugged you tightly, whispered a quick 'thank you' and had thrown a tartan shawl around your shoulders saying "Well you never do take care of yourself properly!"

And with that she had smiled brightly and departed. And it was due to this reason that you were in an especially good mood and grinning like a loon as you walked around Diagon Alley.

Bellatrix was not having such a good time. She had discovered at the end of her fifth year that she was to marry Rodolphus Lestrange and that the Dark Lord her parents were sycophantically talking about expected her to swear an oath that she would join his increasingly motley crew. And so at the beginning of summer she had packed a small bag and left her home. Having planned to do this since Easter she had left her school things in her dormitory at Hogwarts and so was only carrying clothing, money and her wand.

The only place she could think of taking refuse was with one of her friends and to do that she would need to go to Diagon Alley to contact them. The journey there was dreadful; she had taken the Knight Bus and moments after sworn a bloody oath never to set foot on the bus again. She had sent an owl and taken a room at the Leaky Cauldron, but made a point of being out in the streets most of the time in case her family came looking. Which she considered unlikely. In was in this state of apprehension that she bumped into Professor McGonagall, who immediately seemed to surmise what she was doing there.

"Miss Black, you're a long way from home. Are you alone?"

"Yes, Professor."

"And your parents just let you wonder around London?"

"I am sixteen!"

The Professor raised a doubting eyebrow and Bellatrix tried to push past her, hoping that the teacher would leave her be. After all she never did pay much attention to her in class. The Transfiguration mistress was too busy fawning over Alice and her stupid ability to complete any task within ten bloody minutes of it being set!

The Professor, however, did not let her go easily.

"Well, when you are finished with your…shopping, I assume, find me and I will escort you home. Your parents may not mind, but I don't like to think of a young girl in Muggle London by herself."

"No! No, it's quite all right Professor, I'm staying at the Leaky Cauldron tonight and I can make my own way home tomorrow."

"I see."

McGonagall didn't even change her tone of voice when she posed her next question.

"And do you have enough money to stay there all summer, Miss Black?"

Bellatrix knew she was fighting a losing cause and suppose there was no harm in McGonagall knowing. The rumour mill once she returned to Hogwarts would ensure everybody knew she had left home anyway.

"No. But I sent an owl to Rita asking if I could stay with her."

Her voice trailed off towards the end. She wasn't sure if McGonagall was aware but Bella knew that it was downright impossible that Rita would be able to give her house room. It was in fact quite likely that Rita herself was searching fruitlessly for somewhere else to stay that summer.

"Well we both know that is unlikely to happen Miss Black. From what I know of Skeeter's home life it is not much better than yours."

Despite the horrible circumstances she faced at that moment Bellatrix had to smile slightly at Rita being delegated to last name status by McGonagall, purely because she was on the opposing Quidditch team. McGonagall noticed the small smile and silently placed an arm around Bellatrix and for one horrifying moment the young witch thought she was about to be Apparated back to her parent's house. Instead she was led to the ice cream parlour with the funny name her parents had never permitted her to go in.

They sat in companionable silence whilst the proprietor brought them two bowls. Bellatrix, once again, had to smirk. The Professor, it seemed, had a usual.

"I can't go back there Professor…"

"Very well. Then where?"

"I don't know."

"And what about Skeeter?"

"Well she doesn't have any money at all. You know what she's like, if she has it it's probably not hers and it burns a hole through her pocket before she does anything useful with it."

She smiled thinking about her best friend and didn't seem to notice the expression on the teacher's face. It didn't occur to Bella that, no, McGonagall didn't know at all what Rita was like.

"You know she could have had won a hundred Galleons last year."

"From whom?"

"Alecto Carrow, my house, seventh year. She said she'd give Rita a hundred Galleons if at the end of the last Quidditch match of the season if Rita knocked somebody out with a bludger. But she wouldn't do it."

Minerva was quite aware of the Ravenclaw's skill with a bat and knew it would have been no effort for her to in fact knock somebody unconscious. She did find it harder to believe that the girl would have refused on moral grounds.

"Anybody in particular?"

"Erm…yeah. You."

Minerva was shocked into silence for quite some time, but the younger girl didn't really register as she finished her ice cream and began eyeing Minerva's.

"Here take it, but don't blame me if your brain freezes!"

Bellatrix smiled widely and began devouring her second treat for the day.

"Next time you see Skeeter tell her thank you from me, right now we need to find you somewhere to stay. I don't suppose you have any other relatives to stay with"

Bellatrix's expression changed so rapidly that McGonagall was startled. One moment she had looked all of sixteen, merrily eating her ice cream and talking fondly about her best friend with an endearing smile on her face, but at the mention of her family she darkened, dropped her spoon and pushed the bowl away as though she were about to be sick.

"No. I haven't. Unless I have a benevolent aunt somewhere they never told me about."

Minerva grimaced at the tone of voice and in the next thirty years she would wonder what possessed her to say the words she did.

"Well, I could give you house room until you find somewhere else. But it's not permanent mind!"

The young witch's expression once again changed so rapidly that Minerva wondered if she had imagined the dark look.

"Really?!"

She had to smile at the enthusiasm.

"Really."

Bellatrix immediately leapt from her seat and threw herself at the teacher, who despite her usual issues with excessive affection, felt it would hurt the girl more if she didn't hug her back.

"Thank you so much!"

Abruptly Bella returned to her seat and dragged her remaining ice cream towards her and although it had more of less melted proceeded to finish it as though it were the best treat she'd ever had. Which, Minerva thought with great sadness, it probably was.


	2. Chapter 2

They reached Minerva's home by Apparition about half an hour later, Bellatrix clinging onto the teacher's arms for dear life.

"I get travel sick." She offered by way of explanation.

Before Minerva could begin puzzling out how this was possible she had to smile at the look of wonder on the younger woman's face. She had never before considered that her home may be in any way grand but it seemed to impress Bella. It was an inherited house but she had thought the legendary grandeur of the Black family residence would have knocked her abode out of the running for impressiveness. Another look at Bellatrix's smiling face and she changed her opinion, it was incredulity, simple happiness at being in a house not overrun by darkness.

"It's strangely red."

Minerva burst out laughing. She never really noticed herself by she supposed the mixture of Gryffindor colours and her affection for tartan patterns did give the impression that the house was on fire.

"Yes, I suppose it is. Right, I'll show you to a room and then we'll have some lunch. In my house we don't eat ice cream all the time Miss Black."

"At least you eat like a normal person."

McGonagall raised her eyebrows at this and Bellatrix continued speaking, not meeting her gaze and studying her shoes.

"In our house it's barely anything. Mother says that our husbands won't take us if we get fat and she thinks we gorge ourselves when we're at Hogwarts."

"How ridiculous! She honesty thinks we'd allow our students to make themselves ill through eating too much?"

"My mother thinks an apple is gorging."

"I see."

McGonagall didn't speak again after that but she smiled kindly at her young student as she manoeuvred her towards the stairs. Once she had reached the room her mind had designated for Bellatrix she took a deep breath, not giving herself time to wonder why she was worried about her student's opinion of her décor.

She needn't have worried; Bella was thrilled. Although she would hazard a guess that Bellatrix would have slept in a bus station providing it was a long way away from her family. She left the girl alone and knew without question that she was bouncing on the bed and despite all her instincts telling her this was ridiculous behaviour she smiled to herself and went downstairs.

Half an hour later when Minerva was in the library there was a tentative knock on the door and Bella poked her head around it looking so comically astounded at what she'd found that her teacher had to physically stop herself laughing.

"You're smoking!"

"I had noticed thank you."

"But…," flustering Bella moved towards her teacher's seat. "But my mother smokes!"

Not really knowing how to answer this Minerva simply looked confused and continued to take slow drags, sucking on the butt of the cigarette far too much as was her habit. Suddenly Bella's expression of deep confusion changed rapidly and she looked as though she had just stumbled upon the greatest idea in history.

"Can I try one?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"You're too young."

"I'm sixteen, that's legal in the muggle world."

Again silenced Minerva went back to taking drags, trying to think of a counter-argument.

"I am your teacher."

"Yeah, but homework's just as bad and you give us that."

Silenced again. She had a feeling the logic of Bellatrix Black was going to give her a headache and vowed to find the girl something to occupy her summer. She handed her the pack.

"That never happened Bellatrix, you found them. Do you hear me?"

"Loud and clear Mg."

Ignoring the copious amounts of seating around the room Bellatrix unceremoniously plonked herself on the floor by her teacher's chair, happily examining a cigarette before her teacher leaned over and tapped it with the end of her wand.

Bella inhaled, perhaps a little deeply, but didn't choke.

"Oh now I like that! Can I have some gin too?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"I saw it in a muggle film once. All the good-looking women had cigarettes and gin, Rita said it was important to the plot."

"Maybe it would be a good idea if you branched out and found some other friends. Skeeter doesn't strike me as being the best influence."

"Rita's my best friend."

And she stopped talking, silently daring McGonagall to retort. She didn't and decided she would begin her mission for the summer of acquiring a figure for Bellatrix.

"Come on you. Lunch."

Bellatrix jumped to her feet and was out of the door with such speed that to Minerva's tired eyes she seemed nothing more than a black blur. Sighing deeply she climbed to her feet and followed Bellatrix with a smile.


End file.
